Skip to main content
Partly Cloudy icon
38º

11 cows killed in crash on Interstate 81 in Augusta County

One person suffered minor injuries, according to police

No description found

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. – Eleven cows were killed Monday in a crash on Interstate 81 northbound in Augusta County, according to Virginia State Police.

Police said it happened at 11:40 a.m. Monday at mile marker 232.

Recommended Videos



We’re told a 2023 Lincoln Nautilus was traveling northbound on I-81 and attempted to pass a 2005 Kenworth W900 on the tractor-trailer’s right side. The Nautilus struck the tractor-trailer which was hauling the cattle, causing the tractor-trailer to veer right and strike a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder.

Both the tractor-trailer and Pathfinder went off the road and the tractor-trailer overturned. The Nautilus went off the left side of the interstate in the northbound lanes.

Police said the driver of the Nautilus, Tonya Cleveland, 56, of Verona, was not injured. Cleveland was cited for making an unsafe lane change.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Dewey Emswiler, 69, of Shenandoah, suffered minor injuries. The driver of the Pathfinder was not injured.

VSP said everyone involved was wearing a seatbelt.